Somtimes
by AlabamaBound
Summary: Two strangers meet on a bus and they develop a friendship that eventually could lead to something more... A series of 7 prompts....
1. On A Bus

_**~~This was written in response to the LJ community story_lottery. The prompt for this one was a bus. It's going to be a series of 7 stories. This is just the first one. I hope you enjoy. Remember, reviews are love....**_

Prompt:a bus story_lottery

Summary Two strangers meet on a bus and they develop a friendship that eventually could lead to something more...

Spoilers: None

Warning(s): No real warnings.

Disclaimer: This is a alternate Universe piece.

Sometimes you can change the course of fate simply by doing the very thing that you've been doing all along. Sometimes, your life can take an unexpected turn. Even if you aren't aware of the turn. Sometimes, it all starts with a chance meeting. A meeting that can change everything you always thought about yourself and others. Sometimes, it all starts with something as simple as becoming friends. Strangers become friends and then sometimes, friends become lovers.

This is the story of that kind of relationship.

Angela had been riding the same bus for nearly six months. Ever since she started working with her best friend at the Jeffersonian. They could have drove into work together, but Angela loved the atmosphere on the bus. She loved people watching. Brennan had told her that it wasn't rational. That she had a perfectly reliable means of transportation and she would be happy to take her to work everyday. Angela had merely smiled at her best friend. They rarely agreed on anything. This was just another of those examples. Sometimes, they were like oil and water, but she loved Bren dearly.

She was staring out the window and hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to how fast the bus was filling up. That was usually the case however. The driver always made sure to announce when her stop was coming up. It had taken him a week to learn that she wasn't paying attention to the stops. So, every morning when they arrived at her stop, the driver would make the now familiar announcement. She sometimes wondered if the other passengers noticed. Not that she would care if they did, but it had been something that she'd wondered about on occasion.

On that particular morning, she heard a male voice ask, "Is this seat taken?"

She turned to look in the direction of the voice and couldn't help but smile. The man that stood next to the empty seat had a kind face. She gathered her purse and sketch pad and said, "No. I'm sorry. I get so involved in people watching that I didn't realize that there bus was so full."

The man smiled as he sat down in the now empty seat. He extended his hand and offered, "I'm Jack Hodgins. My friends call me Jack or Hodgins."

Angela smiled and shook his offered hand, "I'm Angela. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to be met. You looked like you were deep in thought."

Angela smiled and nodded slowly, "I wonder about the people that are outside this window. What their stories are. Where they are going to and coming from. What makes them happy or sad."

Jack smiled at her, "You sound like a whimisical person."

She shook her head, "My father always told me that I have a poets soul. Maybe that's why I became an artist. I can't write poetry, but I'm pretty good with art."

Before Hodgins could say anything else, the bus came to a stop and the driver called out, "The Jeffersonian."

Angela stood and so did Hodgins. He smiled and said, "This is my stop."

"Really? I work here."

"Really? I'm starting my first day here."

"What do you do?"

"I analyze slime, particulates and bugs."

"Oh joy. You sound like someone that my friend Zack would get along well with."

He laughed as they walked together for a bit. Finally, he gestured toward the building and asked, "So, do you work here."

She nodded, "For the past six months. It's the longest job I've held since, well, since forever."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My dad had a thing about traveling and well, I guess it sort of rubbed off on me."

They smiled at each other and then they turned and walked in opposite directions. Angela put him out of her mind for the rest of the day. It was only when she got to the bus stop that she thought about the man that she'd met earlier that day.

He came running to the bus stop. He held an armful of papers and looked like he was out of breath. She smiled softly, "Are you okay?"

"I didn't want to miss the bus. I'm guessing that I didn't."

"Not unless I missed it too."

They talked about their day. Hodgins smiled, "It was one of the most boring days ever. I was in meetings all morning. Filling out paperwork is not what I spent nearly six years in school for."

The bus finally pulled up and they managed to find two seats together. They resumed their conversation and few minutes later.

Angela smiled and said, "Paperwork is a necessary evil here. Who's your boss?"

Hodgins looked down at a card that he held in one of his hands and read from it, "It says here that I'm supposed to report to a Doctor Temperance Brennan tomorrow morning."

"You're kidding me. That's my boss and my best friend."

"Talk about a small world huh?"

Angela shook her head. She knew that there was something special about meeting like this. Maybe it was fate. She knew that Bren would say that there was no such thing as fate. Only chance meetings that happen along the way. She believed in fate though. She tried telling her that sometimes things were destined to happen.

However, right now, she smiled and looked at Hodgins, "Well, it's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too. I can't wait to introduce you to Zack. I just know that you'll like him. Oh and Bren, just take everything that she says with a grain of salt. Oh and Goodman is really harmless. A little gruff around the edges, but he's really a softie."

Hodgins listened to her talk. Little did he know that this was the beginning of a wonderful and sometimes crazy relationship. It would take them to places that neither one of them had ever been to before. It would be a rocky road, but there was going to be a lot of adventures and laughter along the way. Their story started on a bus and was waiting to be played out.


	2. In A Meadow

Angela smiled as she watched her friends running through the open field. She'd been working at the Jeffersonian for over two years. She had thought about quitting on more than one occasion. There were only so many dead bodies that a normal person could look at before it started to get to them. If she was honest with herself, the only reason that she'd stayed was because of the people right here with her.

They'd talked her out of quitting on more than one occasion. Especially Bren. She'd been there for her every time she'd needed someone to talk to. Then there was Hodgins. How did she explain her feelings for that man? He was like something out of a dream. She'd never dreamed where their friendship would lead when they'd met on the bus all those months ago. They'd been friends since the day they met. Now however, she was starting to look at him in a somewhat different light.

The picnic had been Booth's idea. Only Booth could find someplace this perfect. Someplace like this beautiful meadow in the middle of Northern Virginia. It was early spring and the flowers were just now starting to bloom. She'd sat down to draw what could only be described as the perfect picture. The picture of her friends who were more like family to her.

She watched as Booth, Zack and Hodgins took part in a kind of weird, if not somewhat odd game of keep away. They had all wanted to play football, but Zack insisted that it wouldn't be fair. Something about the fact that he'd never even seen a football before. Brennan hadn't wanted to play. She made a comment about Booth not playing fair. Especially since he'd been a jock in his high school days. And Angela had begged off. Saying that she just wanted to relax and enjoy the spring air.

She was joined shortly by Hodgins. He tried to look at her drawing, but she batted his hands away and said, "It's a surprise. I might let you see it when I'm done, if you're good."

He had smiled and whispered, "And here I thought that you liked the bad boys."

Angela had raised an eyebrow at that one and smiled, "Unfortunately you'll never find out."

He laughed and stood up to join the others. Angela was truly happy. She could say with certainty that she loved the people she was with here today. This was what made her life complete. They weren't a family in the traditional sense of the word.

Booth was like their big brother. He picked on them and made them smile. He was also fiercely protective of "his squints" as he was so fond of calling them. Unlike the others, she didn't take offense to his teasing term. She loved being included in the special term of affection.

Brennan was somewhat harder to classify. If she had to pin her down, she would say that she was like the mother of the group. Very protective and always wanting everyone to be happy and keep everyone under her wings.

Angela was the little sister. She smiled at that thought. She didn't have any brothers or sisters, so she rather liked thinking of herself in that way.

And then there was Zack. How does anyone classify Zack? He was definitely everyone's favorite little brother. Somewhat odd and definitely needing a guiding hand every now and then. Yeah, Zack was definitely their little brother.

And Hodgins. He was becoming something all together different to her. She was growing closer and closer to him every day. She'd never realized that someone could come to mean so much to her in such a short time. Whenever he wasn't around the lab, she could sense his absence.

She watched as their little rag tag family moved across the meadow. This had to be the oddest place for them to gather, but somehow it seemed fitting. Their daily lives were filled with so much gore and violence that this place seemed to counteract that. It was such a contrast that it helped to calm her. To make her realize that life wasn't a series of tragic events. That there was beauty in the world. That people weren't all bad. That there were places that beauty still existed. Even if it was only for a few brief moments. Beauty was what this place was all about.

Angela was glad that Booth had thought of this. They'd worked and exceptionally long and gruesome case. He'd come into the lab and announced that they were all taking a field trip. Everyone had been curious. Except maybe Brennan that is. At first, she just looked annoyed. She wondered why Booth was interrupting her day with something as irrational as a field trip. They weren't in school anymore and didn't need something as mundane as a trip to make them feel better.

Booth had stopped her protests by simply saying, "It's called a way to relax Bones. The squints really need it."

Brennan had looked at the others and nodded. Seeming to finally agree with Booth for a change.

Angela had been skeptical about this whole thing. Hodgins and Zack were merely trying to beat each other to the SUV so that they could each have a window seat. Angela had laughed and agreed to sit in to middle.

Booth had remarked, "You two really need to grow up."

To which Hodgins replied, "I refuse to grow up."

Angela had simply laughed and shook her head. Booth looked shocked for a moment, but finally decided to let it go. The day had been, in a word, perfect.

They were a family. They had everything they needed. Sure, there were moments when they would get frustrated with one another, but those moments were what made them stronger. They each knew where they stood with the other. This time in the meadow proved one thing to Angela. It proved to her that this was where she belonged. Because no matter how grossed out she got by all the dead bodies and the terrible circumstances that happened at work, there were moments like this. Picture perfect moments that eventually turned into picture perfect memories. Memories that would last a lifetime. She knew that she would never forget this day. No matter how long she lived.

As she stared out the window, she knew that she needed to thank Booth for this day. She knew that she would never forget this. For as long as she remembered……


	3. The Edge of A Cliff

Angela had known that she was asking for trouble. If someone had asked her back when they'd first started dating, she would have told them that she knew that it would end this way. With her heart broken and Jack acting like a stranger to her. She'd wanted to take a chance on love. Even if it had only been for a season, she knew that it had all been worth it. She'd been so in love with him. The only thing she could be grateful for was that they were still able to work together. She knew that she still loved him. That she would always love him. Because despite everything, she'd lost her heart to him. She knew that she would never be the same again.

She sat at the edge of the cliff and let another tear slide down her face. They'd been apart for months and she'd gotten together with Wendell. She smiled when she thought of him. She felt guilty for what she was doing. She wasn't in love with him. He was a kid. She couldn't give her heart to him, because it belonged to another man.

She knew that she was pregnant. How could she be so stupid? She'd always wanted a houseful of children. However, she'd wanted them with the right man. At the right time. She sighed and looked out over the vast expanse of rock and grass. She knew that she needed to make a few tough decisions. Decisions that she wasn't sure that she wanted or could make. It would be so easy to get rid of it. No one but her knew about this. It was an easy decision and no one would be any wiser.

However, every time she picked up the phone to make the appointment, she couldn't make herself dial the number. That was how she found herself standing here. This is so like her life. She'd always felt like she was forever balanced on a cliff. Ready, at any moment, to fall off and forever lose herself. Whether to death or something much, much worse. She knew that she'd made a mess of her life and nothing she did would ever fix things.

So, she'd left the Jeffersonian and ran to her car. She'd driven faster than she should have. She hadn't even realized what her destination was. She just decided to drive. She'd driven for about an hour. Finally, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She was exhausted. Both physically and mentally. She got out of her car and walked for about ten minutes. It was at the end of a clearing that she found the most beautiful sight ever. The edge of the cliff hadn't scared her. Not really. It was one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen.

It was that very beauty that caused her to start crying. It was so absolutely perfect here. How she wished that her life was like this, picture perfect. She shook her head at the absurd notion. Life wasn't perfect. At least not for her. Life was complicated and undeniably hard. Sometimes, she wondered why she even bothered.

She heard someone approaching her from behind. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. She sighed and whispered, "Hello Jack."

"Angela."

"How did you know where to find me?"

She heard the sadness in his voice as he told her, "I followed you. I was worried about you Ange."

The tears started to flow once again. God, how she loved this man. She loved him. She'd always loved him. With everything she had. Her heart would always belong to him. She wasn't sure if he still felt the same about her though. So, she whispered, "I'm fine Jack."

"Are you really fine Ange? Because if you're like me you're dying inside."

Still afraid to face him, she whispered, "What?"

"I'm dying a little inside each day. I miss holding you. I miss talking to you like a friend and not just a co-worker. I miss everything about you. Most of all, I miss making love to you."

Angela swallowed hard. How could he still love her? She'd found someone else. He hadn't. Whether it was because he still loved her or because of something else, she couldn't be sure. She swallowed, "I miss you too. All of that. I miss my friend Jack."

"Oh. I see."

She laughed softly and said, "Yeah. I miss the guy that I could tell all my secrets to. I miss holding him after we made love. I miss feeling like I'm the most important and perfect person in the world. I miss being able to laugh at the crazy things we do. I miss loving someone as much as I loved him."

Jack didn't say anything else until he walked closer to her. She felt his hand on her shoulder and it was then that she turned around and threw herself into his arms, "I love you Jack!"

Hodgins smiled and whispered, "I love you too."

Angela smiled and said, "You know there still a lot to talk about. There are a lot of reasons why we didn't work."

"I know Ange. I want us to work this time. I don't want to lose you again."

Angela nodded, "I don't want to lose you either. I've realized a lot of things in the past few months. Mostly, I've realized how right we are for each other."

"We complete each other Ange. We are perfect together. Somehow, we lost sight of that. Lost sight of how much we love each other. We let other things get in the way. Other people."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. I'm so very sorry Ange. For everything. If I could take it all back I would.

Angela sighed and whispered, "We can't take it back, but we can move forward. Just promise me one thing Jack."

"Anything."

"Promise me that you won't lose sight of how much we stand to lose if this goes bad again."

"I promise Ange. Nothing is more important to me."

The scene ends as they pull each other close and kiss each other deeply….


End file.
